Bread and Roses
by Stri-scia
Summary: "The problem is exactly that," Dominique said. "Voldemort was destroyed and everybody settled down and enforced some laws so that he could never return. All good and all well, except…" "Except," Mea interrupted, a glint in her eyes, "except everybody just rested on their laurels. Even uncle Harry went to be an Auror and an enforcer of the same system that needed change"


**A/N**

So, let's call this a thought experiment of sorts. Let's call this a social commentary. Let's call this political.

This fic came to me while I was mulling over some facts that happened in real life, and at the same time, while I was thinking about JKR and her ideals (or lack thereof), and what it meant for the HP world. I'd never written proper next gen (if not for the other fic you can find on my profile, and to which this one loosely links because of Dudley's kids), and I'm trying it out, trying to shape the characters as I go.

There's four "proper" protagonists in this story, and they would be James, Louis, Dominique and Meadow. Meadow is Dudley's daughter, and she's an OC, so if you don't like OCs, you're advised. There would, of course, also be the others, because I need them to complete the world, but the point of view will probably shift among the four characters. I'm still thinking whether I should add a chapter for Hogwarts, but that will come later.

So, I would probably need to start with a couple words about the morality of this fic. HP is a verse that has kind of a… black and white morality. Even with JKR's attempts with Snape and Draco, there's still a very stark difference between what's Good and what's Bad. And there's no reflection on how what's Bad is not always so definite, and on how what we see that's Bad is not the whole picture.

This story goes into a leftist perspective of what's morality, if you will. In the whole picture, violence is not always a bad answer, and being head of the police always is. In the whole picture—in the real world—the Bad Guys that we see are used by the Powers to distract us from the Badder Things that they do; in the whole picture, the small fash roaming the streets is just a muppet, and he has to be treated as such (whether he's aware of this or not). This is something that's not in canon, and I understand if it disturbs you.

I took political facts from the real world: the response you see is real and it's all something that I have lived—in my country or otherwise. The rise of the alt-right probably wouldn't be possible in the HP world in 2023, but then again, I'm writing about people who use magic wands, so forgive me for this sociological inaccuracy.

I'm not sure if I should add something, and this is becoming very long anyway, so… good reading?

Chapter 1

Meadow

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

May 21st, 2011

ANALYSIS: CAN THE MUGGLE CRISIS REACH US?

 _By P. Patil, chief editor at the department of International News_

By now, everyone of us who has relatives in the Muggle world knows about the financial crisis they've been living since 2008 (finance being a Muggle thing where they go into buildings and buy and sell money for money, basically). For now, the crisis seems to have avoided the International Magical Community, partly because of the difference in money used, partly because the Community as a whole doesn't do business with Muggles. However, we're not totally insulated, because there's a great deal of Muggle-born mages, of mages marrying Muggles, and so on and so forth. The Goblin Nation has been looking at the crisis with a concerned eye—even if our money is worth its weight in gold, silver and copper, it's still something they ought to pay attention to, that with Muggles changing Muggle money at Gringotts and thus bringing Muggle money in our system.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

February 13th, 2013

ANALYSIS: WHAT IS THE CRISIS WE'RE LIVING AND WHY IS IT HERE

 _By P. Patil, chief editor at the department of International Relations_

Our most affectionate readers will already know what we're talking about, since this newspaper is not new to the topic. The crisis that Muggles have been living since 2008 has finally reached even the most secluded of us.

[…]

Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt addressed the issue, saying he's been working on the issue and has issued a Special Commission to work with the Goblin Nation at the resolution of the crisis.

[…]

Excerpt from the last page of The Daily Prophet

December 9th, 2013

Diagon Alley: manifestation tomorrow December 10th

The main square in Diagon Alley tomorrow December 10th will be busy from 13:00 to 15:00 because of a small manifestation.

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

September 19th, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE GRANGER: A LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF A WAR HERO

 _By O. Quirke, editor at The Daily Prophet_

Thirty-five is surely an important age, more so if you're a war hero. The Prophet wishes the happiest of days to war hero Hermione Granger, and uses the occasion for an overview of a life of accomplishments that only the best skilled mages can dream of.

Deputy Head of the DMLE Hermione Granger was set to change the world since she was young: she started fighting for the rights of House Elves at 14, then went on an epic quest to destroy Horcruxes and helped Harry Potter defeat Voldemort at only 17! Then she went on trying to change the world some more, first in the DRCMC and now in the DMLE. Here's a (short, non-comprehensive) list of the laws she proposed or helped to change:

\- The House Elves Act, thanks to which now House Elves have to be paid a minimum of two sickles per week;

\- The Humanoid Beings Act, thanks to which Vampires and Werewolves now have the right to have accommodations for their conditions;

\- The edits to the Blood Act, thanks to which all mentions of Pure-bloods magic being superior were edited out;

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

March 4th, 2015

SQUIBS ARE MISTREATED: MCCREADY HAS SPOKEN

 _By S. Perks, editor at The Daily Prophet_

Augustus McCready has spoken in favour of Squibs yesterday during the first conference of the movement he fathered, Knights of the Everlasting Knut (K.E.K.), in Edinburgh. "It's time that someone faced the question," he said to the _Prophet_ , "because we allowed for too much mistreatment to minority members in our community. They've been robbed of something that's rightfully theirs."

Mr. McCready has never hidden his distaste for the new politics. "I'm glad for the results of the war," he reminded his audience yesterday. "But I think that the DMLE is not doing anything to protect vulnerable members of our society, and we ought to do something."

The Prophet reached the DMLE public relations office for a comment, but it has yet to come.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

March 5th, 2015

WE ARE PROTECTING THE INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY: THE DMLE ANSWERS KEK

 _By S. Perks, editor at The Daily Prophet_

The DMLE has finally answered the declaration made at the first conference for KEK in Edimburgh. A spokesperson has reached us yesterday with a statement.

"We're glad that Mr. McCready is interested in minority members of the magical community," said a spokesperson for the DMLE. "We want to protect the interests of everyone in the community, including Squibs, and we want to maintain relationships with the other magical communities around the world. The work is hard, but we are doing what we can."

We are sure that the DMLE is doing what they can, and international relations regarding mages are still a relatively new territory, unlike Muggle international relations. We can only hope Minister For Magic Kingsley Shaklebolt thinks of issuing a new department in the Ministry for an Office for International Relations, since that role was just for Sports and Games. Dare I say, we at the Prophet have already had it for a long time.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

July 15th, 2016

GOBLIN MONEY SHOULD BE MORE PROTECTED, MINISTER SAYS

 _By P. Patil, chief editor at the department of International Relations_

As the _aficionados_ of this page know, we've been talking about the Muggle financial crisis for quite some time, when it still wasn't a problem in the magical world (and, dare I say, to some extent it still isn't because the Goblin Nation deals in valuable metals. Though, of course, the malcontent is very well and present). The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shaklebolt, addressed the crisis issue a couple of days ago during an interview with the Prophet. "The Goblin Nation has been worried about the crisis," he said. "We're doing our best to address the issue with them and work together for a solution."

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

February 28th, 2017

THE WORLD SALUTES HERMIONE GRANGER, THE NEW MINISTER FOR MAGIC

 _By N. McDonald, editor at The Daily Prophet_

Today is a beautiful day. As much as we're sad because (now-former) Minister Kingsley Shaklebolt decided to step down from his long and happy mandate, the popular vote has spoken, and Hermione Granger is officially the new Minister For Magic (we hope for a long, long time!) for Great Britain and Ireland.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

July 31st, 2017

HARRY POTTER TO BE APPOINTED D-DMLE IN THE DAY OF HIS BIRTHDAY

 _By O. Quirke, editor at The Daily Prophet_

The news arrives just a few months after the results of the last elections: Harry Potter is about to become the D-DMLE "after years of honoured service," said the spokesperson for the DMLE.

Harry Potter's career has begun just after the War, when he decided against going back to school for his last year and became an Auror instead. In his career, he helped purge the world from dark wizards and being, and we're overall really happy he's chosen this path, as he's seen as one of the best Aurors of this time.

[…]

Excerpt from The Quibbler

April 1st, 2018

EVEN THE GOBBLESNORKS ARE AGITATED

 _By L. Lovegood, editor-in-chief_

The War is done, and everything went back to normal. The magical world is changing, people who were robbed by the War can now dedicate themselves to their true hobbies, such as naturalism, broom-riding, and other amenities I'm sure everyone knows about. We're all happy, we're all supposed to be happy.

So, why am I bringing up Gobblesnorks (which, as our readers now know, are absolutely non-existent, with Nargles _and_ Crumple-Horned Snorkacks—but I digress) in this time and age? Because I think we have to be on the lookout a bit, just a bit, for the new group that promised they're going to take—democratically, they added, because of course—the Ministry. KEK has a strange history, especially in such times, and yet it's gaining more popularity by the day.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

August 29th, 2018

BURKINA FASO WON THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP

 _By G. Prewett, chief editor at Sports and Games_

Yesterday yours truly was still in Nordkapp, Norway, to watch the game between Burkina Faso and France. And what a game, what a game! Everybody was here: from Minister Granger to Bulgaria's Golden Boy Viktor Krum and KEK leader Augustus McCready, and they were having a damn good time! Seeker Sankara caught the snitch two hours into the game, while BFNT was at 90 on France's 130.

[…]

Excerpt from The Quibbler

January 1st, 2019

YEAR CLOSES WITH A HUGE MESS

 _By M. Macdougal, editor at The Quibbler_

This article wasn't supposed to be here. We had prepared an amazing piece on how different wizarding cultures celebrate New Year according to their religion or lack thereof. The piece was pulled out at the last minute, because at midnight—three hours before the Quibbler goes to print—there was a huge breakout in Diagon Alley, where the London celebrations was held. A group of people, holding a green clover flag, were seen first squabbling and then outright fighting with a group of mages in white robes. According to witnesses, wands were drawn and minor Spells were thrown, on both parties. Witnesses also say it's the clover people who started it, but of course an investigation has been opened and we're sure we will reach a judicial truth.

The motives are not clear yet—we can't ignore that the clover is the KEK symbol, but also we wouldn't want to reach conclusions before there are official statements on this.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

January 1st, 2019

MINOR DISORDERS IN DIAGON ALLEY FOR NYE

 _By O. Quirke, editor at The Daily Prophet_

The last of the year is surely the time to do pub crawling and having drunken brawls, but that might be one that surpassed the expectations. It was a few minutes before the midnight fireworks were set to explode, and two groups of people started having a minor row. We have no doubts that both groups were drunk, and the whole ordeal was promptly resolved thanks to the Aurors patrolling the Alley, but we can't help but wonder, what can we do to bring more order in the community?

[…]

Excerpt from The Quibbler

May 12th, 2020

20 YEARS OF THE UNITED MAGICAL NATIONS: A LOOK INTO IT

 _By L. Lovegood, chief editor at The Quibbler_

Our _aficionados_ will forgive us if we stray from our more habitual topics in favour of something more… conventional, so to speak, but as you surely do know, yours truly was someway a protagonist in the events of the War that helped the UMN form and the Magical Communities not be so isolated—excepting for Quidditch but then again, Sports and Games don't really count in modern times—therefore this article is going to be a bit soppy, I hope you can bear with me.

The need for some sort of union now that people—muggles—can travel everywhere, and everyone speaks English as _lingua franca_ in the world was surely needed, even before the war. There were tenuous connections to help bring criminals in, but nothing beats this, with commercial agreements and international regulations and what we hope can be an unified educational system for our children—including and especially Muggleborns and Squibs. Surely, having this means renouncing to some country privilege, but the benefits are surely greater (Brexit, anyone?) and even if there are opposers, the UMN is working greatly.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

October 31st, 2021

PEOPLE NEED SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS THEIR LANGUAGE, MCCREADY SAYS

 _By P. Patil, chief editor at the department of International Relations_

Yesterday at the huge manifestation KEK had in Diagon Alley, leader Augustus McCready spoke from the stage, announcing he'd run for Minister for Magic at the next elections.

"It's appalling how the Ministry and the Minister don't speak the language of the people," he stated. "We are a movement that speaks to everybody, and we want the old stuff out of the Ministry. We are planning to bring the first Squib Member for the Ministry! We are the only ones who propose substantial solutions to other people's chattering."

Around him people cheered, mesmerized. KEK managed to get a lot of support in the last few years, as I'm sure people have noticed. They're determined, and they play fairly, so we can only tel them: good luck beating the brightest witch of her generation!

[…]

Excerpt from _Letters from our readers_ from The Quibbler

June 9th, 2022

THE PARADOX OF TOLERANCE

 _By R. G. W._

Dear Millie,

I write from a place of great concern. For the last few years I have been following the movements of a political group that's bound to be on everyone's lips by now, which I don't want to name to avoid giving them more notoriety than the one they are already basking in. I am a Half-Blood black Jew. My grandparents' parents were hurt by the Shoah, and my grand-parents and my parents were hurt every day because of their heritage. I am hurt every day because of my heritage. From this position, I believe this movement is preaching hate, and I believe they don't have good intentions. People talk left and right about how the leaders are not the same thing as the followers, and we should give them a platform and talk to them, but to that I have two objections:

One, the leaders might not be the same thing as the followers, but they sure do groom the followers to their own pleasure, and ultimately all the blood that might have been shed is on their hands;

Two, there's one thing by this Muggle Philosopher called the Paradox of Tolerance. It states that to achieve tolerance and peace we needn't be tolerant with the intolerant, because if we are tolerant with the intolerant, then the intolerant ends up taking all the space and making it an intolerant space.

I wish people considered this more of a problem.

[…]

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet

March 22nd, 2023

"IT WAS A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY, BUT WE ARE NOT AT FAULT," MCCREADY SAYS

 _By N. Mcdonald, editor at The Daily Prophet_

Augustus McCready has spoken on the horrible tragedy that wound up the British Magical Community yesterday, when a man draped in the KEK clover flag shot the Killing Curse on a Goblin and a witness and then loudly proclaimed his loyalty to KEK while taken away by the Aurors.

"It's a tragedy," KEK leader Augustus McCready wrote in a statement to the _Prophet_ , "but it's just a crazed person. And if we are more careful about our measurements regarding _Gringotts_ and the way goblins [ _sic!_ ] handle money, then this tragedy won't be repeated."

There's whispers calling it terrorism already, and while we're sure of the innocence of M. McCready, we think that a bit more delicacy is in order, especially in times of grief like these.

[…]

"Houston, we have a problem," announced Louis, and threw the _Prophet_ on the table for everyone to see.

James rose an eyebrow. "Did McDoxypoo spoke again?"

"Well, a statement was in order, especially since it was one of theirs that blew up things in the Alley." Louis didn't even bother raising his eyebrows at James. "Not even Mcfuckface can ignore this."

"Not even the _Prophet_ , more like," muttered Mea, and chuckled darkly.

It was rarely to be just them four without Victoire or their parents, but lately they'd taken to see each other without anyone around, Dominique tagging along at first just because she was still undecided of what to do with her life, and then becoming an amazing addition to their little _2021 Hogwarts Alumni_ group. It was nice to be around a table and studying together, or talking about politics without adults around, for once.

"I'm honestly surprised the _Prophet_ reached Mcsaggybollocks for a statement. They're great at burying their head under the table." Dominique flicked her long hair behind her shoulder. "It's honestly so stupid."

"Mum said they haven't really changed since they were in Hogwarts," James nodded. "You'd think that with the war they would be renovating, and yet…" he trailed off, making a vague gesture at the article.

"The problem is exactly that," Dominique said. "Voldemort was destroyed and everybody settled down and enforced some laws so that he could never return. All good and all well, except…"

"Except," Mea interrupted, a glint in her eyes, "except everybody just rested on their laurels. Even uncle Harry went to be an Auror and an enforcer of the same system that needed change. Sorry Jamie," she added as an afterthought.

Jamie made a face but nodded. "I mean, I can see what you're saying."

"Aurors are basically magical Scotland Yard" Louis was biting his lip nervously. "They protect and serve. But whom?".

"The interests of the currency and private property." Dominique was nodding furiously. "If the higher ups decide that nothing's gonna change, then they work so that nothing changes. And nothing's really changed, not really. Not in Hogwarts, not outside of it."

"Houses are still soooo important and it feels like one of those things that should disappear once you get out but it doesn't." Louis was scribbling on his parchment. "It's been years since that House Elf Act passed, and it didn't do anything substantial."

"Fucking chattel slavery," murmured Mea.

"And when the alt-eaters do something, it's still not Moldy Voldy, it's not enough, we should listen to them and fight them in the marketplace of ideas." Dominique made air-quotes. "It's like they all forgot."

"Could be the squib thing. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the squib thing," Louis murmured. "They took upon a token oppressed minority in the magical world, and they use it as a shield against accusations."

"Yeah, and inferring without saying it outwardly, that Muggle-born mages stole magic from squibs… that's smart, and that was bound to take on a certain kind of people." Mea spoke darkly, eyes still fixed on her hands.

"You know that's not what happened, Mea," James spoke softly, his hand on hers. "It's not supported by anything."

Mea looked at him, grateful. "That's not the point though, Jamie. The point is that they're clever; they literally funded people hurt by the crisis, and went around distributing food for those who couldn't afford it. I can see how someone would praise them as the order against the previous chaos."

"Even as one of them killed someone," Louis' lips were distorted in disgust. "Honestly."

"I heard…" Dominique trailed off. "I heard they planned a protest in the square in front of the _Gringott_ on Friday. We might go and see how it turns out, maybe."

Mea shrugged. "Why not, at least we'll see how many people will be there."

Meadow Dursley, Mea for her friends, was a brilliant Witch. She was a Muggleborn, but she had some magical blood in her veins since her great-aunt had been a Witch herself. She had completed Hogwarts with flying colours and was now studying in Scotland in a Muggle university, because she still liked astrophysics like when she was wrong, and because that way she had made her parents' peace of mind, since they'd really wanted a rounded education for her. She liked Muggle university, but she wouldn't continue after the customary three years. She loved the magical world, and it was where she truly belonged. She could see herself dating someone without power, but not someone that had to be introduced to her world from zero.

Then again, you can never know. Her grandparents were twits and hated magic—her later grandmother had gotten a bit better over the years, but not better enough—and her dad was a twit when he was young too, he told her. And yet, there he was, perfectly integrated in the big family that they were.

Then again, her dad sometimes was still such a fucking _twit_ still—

"Explain again why I can't." Mea fixed him with a glare, and her dad just shook his head.

"Mea, you know that mum and I are proud of your accomplishments, we really are, and we're proud of the way we manage to educate you—"

"But I'm still a fragile flower? Honestly? Really?"

Her dad put his hands on her shoulders. "But your Uncle Harry already suffered through a war, and I saw how it was, and thinking about you going to protest…"

Mea bit her lip; her dad was playing dirty, and he knew it. The War was still quite fresh in the minds of everyone in the magical community, and furthermore she knew really well that her dad had to go into hiding at one point. "It's just a protest though, dad."

He didn't remove his hands from her shoulders. "I know, but still."

Mea lowered her gaze. "Okay."

"Thank you darling, it means a lot to me."

"So, what did he say?" James was bobbing his head to Jasmine Sandlas while he tried to make a decent garlic-ginger paste without magic.

Mea eyed the paste critically. James was great at chopping and crushing stuff with magic, but he was shite with a proper mortar. "That the War weeble wibble wibble so he doesn't want to see me protesting."

James snorted, then let the mortar go and drew his wand with an air of absolute finality. "I will never again prepare my spices without magic," he said. "And what do you want to do?"

"What do you think?" Mea shot back. "I have already a couple of phials with Shielding Potion in them, so we don't even have to draw our wands."

In a way, it was easier after the War. People did keep the Ministry in check, and there was some magical cooperation that went beyond the basis. Countries were signing treaties, and positioning themselves in the international panorama.

Which was to say, things weren't better at all.

International Floo was a nightmare, both if you wanted to call someone _and_ if you wanted to Floo somewhere. International Apparition was reserved to people who actually had enough power to Apparate that far—unless you lived between the Netherlands and Belgium, that is—and international Portkeys took ages to set up, so people still did that just for Super Important Diplomatic Meetings. And the QWC, of course.

Everything was shaped so the Ministries could get their way and _keep the order_ if some master criminal appeared again, and yet the master criminal had to be someone who wrote "I 3 Moldy Voldy" on his forehead, or they wouldn't have taken them seriously.

Better yet, or they would have taken protests against them as a sign of disorder, and we can't have that, can't we?

Dominique arrived early, slightly out of breath. Her long hair was in a low chignon, to keep it out of the way. "Remember when we said the protest was okay and we didn't have to worry?"

"What happened?" James eyes her curiously. "Did someone discover we wanted to go?" He was colouring his artfully-done sign of _Knights of the Everlasting_ _ **Nut**_ with his wand.

"No, but they are confiscating wands if you want to get into the square."

And _that_ made Mea raise her gaze from the laptop. "What the fuck? How are they going to do that?"

"They put an anti-Apparation barrier on the edge of the square, so if you want to go in…" Dominique made a gesture. " _Trouducs_ , the lot of them. I can't believe they—I honestly—"

James didn't speak. Uncle Harry was head of the DMLE, and the manifestation was rumoured to get dirty. Mea knew what he was thinking.

She swallowed.

"Very well then, how do we conceal them?"

"This is going to be bad, this is going to be bad, this is going to be bad," Louis had been chanting for ten minutes, and Mea was this close to slap him.

"With that attitude, sure will," she said instead, bitterly. She wasn't happy either; they tried to conceal their wands using Victoire's one to transfigure them into jewellery, but the Aurors at the entrance of the square confiscated them all the same. Luckily, they didn't confiscate Mea's vials with the shielding potion, and she passed them around to the others. "They won't crack if they fall, but their effect lasts just ten minutes, so we can't use them now."

"Just if the situation becomes bad," said James grimly. "I think I can spot dad."

And indeed, Uncle Harry was standing close to a cluster of Aurors, in his scarlet robe, watching the people with mild annoyance. They were all wearing beanies and big scarves just not to be recognised.

"I would have asked what's he doing here but honestly, if they're running around confiscating _wands_ …" Dominique trailed off. "Fuck, I feel naked, I really do."

Before anyone could answer, a wizard got onto the makeshift stage they had for the protest. "Welcome, friends," he started. "We're here to protest against the Ministry's laissez-faire in the face of a powerful hate group that's rising. We're here to protest against KEK!"

The crowd applauded, someone whistled. The wizard seemed pleased. "Thank you, friends. We're also here to protest against the fact that the Ministry is treating us like we're criminals, like we're Death-Eaters, confiscating our wands just because we're protesting."

A cheer arose from the crowd. Mea booed, her hands cupped in front of her mouth.

"We're not the criminals, we're not the enemy here," continued the wizard. "And we're being treated as such, while a hateful group like theirs is being allowed to live and thrive, and nobody is doing anything!"

More applause, more cheering, James elbowing her in the ribs. "What's that?"

Mea turned her head to see a witch inside the square, a huge mass of blond curls held together by what looked like her wand. "How did she conceal it?"

"I don't know, but we're going to ask her, come on," James started to drag her towards the witch, and they were just at two steps from her, when she suddenly took it from her hair and raised it.

They didn't hear what she said, but the red light that flew towards one of the Aurors guarding the square was unmistakable; the Auror went down, Stunned, and the response was immediate.

She had her Quidditch years to thank for the fact that she was already pouring the potion on her head before the first Charms started to fly. James was doing the same, and she pulled his arm. "Duck!"

She wanted to roll on her back but people were panicking, trying to get anywhere, _everywhere_ , and she didn't want to be trampled. She swallowed, her hand still on James' arm, trying to steady herself, but she kept being jostled.

"We need to escape," James manages, and started to shove them towards the end of the square. "Before the potion wears off."

"We're surrounded by Aurors, what the fuck can we do?" Mea felt helpless like never before. Like a Muggle in front of people with guns. She couldn't do wandless magic, and James couldn't, either. They were trapped.

"I don't know, but fuck if I let myself be Stunned!" James gasped, as one witch fell to the ground close to them. "We need to _go_ , Mea."

He was still shoving her, and Mea saw the door to a building that was partially open. "That way." They'd lost Dominique and Louis when they went after the witch, and she spared a fleeting thought to them, hoping they were okay.

She couldn't exactly think about it more, not if they were still in danger.

The Aurors launched what seemed to be a large amount of Peruvian Instant Night Powder, and Mea swore under her breath as her vision went black. She strengthened her grip on James' arm, hoping she was right with the direction they had to take.

Around them, people were screaming in terror, swarming and jostling, and she kept her elbows raised, tried to steady herself, and moved step after step, James in tow, till she felt herself touching a wall. She touched around, trying to feel the door, and when she managed to do it, she pushed it open and went inside, pulling James towards her. Her eyes were burning, her legs gave out. She fell on the pavement, looking back at the black wall just outside of the door, and felt James falling just right by her.

They stayed there, eyes fixed on the door, for a few minutes, then James shook himself. "We should go to the last floor," he murmured, voice cracking. "And then maybe Apparate from there. See if we can."

"Our wands," murmured Mea. "What about our wands?"

James kept pulling her towards the stairs. "I need to calm down a bit," he said. "Then I'll try to pull the 'son of Harry Potter' card."

"If your dad is not there, you mean." Mea didn't really want to call him Uncle Harry in that moment.

"Yeah," James muttered, gaze dark. "If."

They arrived on the first floor and Mea looked down. The Peruvian Powder had almost dissipated, and it seemed like the Aurors had chosen good, because barely anyone seemed to be standing. Mea saw a couple of Healers close, and it seemed like everything was ready to bring the guys to the DMLE and interrogate them. The Aurors moved efficiently, but the barrier around the square had been broken. "Maybe we can take the wands now, without anyone noticing."

James nodded. He looked tired, but he knew they ought to at least try; they all but run down the stairs, then got out of the door, looking around. "I'm not sure we can behave more suspiciously than this," he muttered, but it didn't exactly matter, not with their personal wands still in the Aurors' hands.

They went around the square, trying to escape the Aurors' gaze. Mea turned her head, looking for anything that was moving, and saw blonde curls in scarlet robes. She squinted and was about to stop, but James tugged her hand, impatiently. "You can stop _later_ , Mea. Not now."

Luckily for them, there was nobody guarding the wand stash. Nobody was around the Alley, either, so it would have been pointless. James and Mea crouched, easily spotting the four pendants they'd made their wands into. They took them and ran without looking back.

Louis and Dominique were there already, when they could finally muster the strength to Apparate at Dominique's. They were dishevelled, and Louis was trembling a bit, but they both run up to them and hugged them hard.

"I thought something had happened with you two," said Dominique with a sob. "I can't—I still can't—how did you escape?"

"Mea saw an open door for a building, we went and hid there till the Aurors were all occupied reviving the Stunned ones, then grabbed our wands and ran away." James was on the carpet, his eyes closed. "How did you do?"

Dominique bit her lip. "We went into Fortescue's. Freya Fortescue was a Housemate, she let us use the Floo."

"Were—were we the only ones who could escape?"

Louis shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was unsteady. "It wasn't only us in Fortescue's. There were like thirty people. I don't know about the others."

"Jesus Christ," murmured Mea. There was at least a couple hundred people in the square, before everything started.

They all lied on the carpet for a bit, and it was like that that Victoire found them. She blinked for a couple seconds. "I don't know if I want to know how did it go," she said, voice forcingly light, and then transfigured the medallions back in wands. "I'm going to make tea for everyone."

"Merci, Vic," called James. "Merlin, I'd missed my baby."

"Yeah," Louis rasped. "I won't go anywhere if it means they take it from me. Merlin, I felt like… like a Muggle."

"Yeah, honestly. Never again." James scratched his chin. "At least we had them back without dad knowing. So could have been worse."

Dominique snorted. "We were already making plans to get to _Tante_ Gabrielle in Marseille, you tell us."

"How did the bloody thing start anyway?" Louis opened an eye. "One minute we were just standing there, the next minute you're gone and hexes are flying everywhere."

Mea bit her lip, looked at James. "Jamie saw a witch with her wand, we were going to ask her how could she conceal it, but she Stun one of the Aurors, and they were already in war assets at that point."

Louis made a sound. "So the only witch who managed to retain her wand is also the one who hexes an Auror? Not bloody likely."

Mea went defensive. "I can pensieve it for you if you want. She was very noticeable, too. She had this huge hair and it was all blond and curly and—" she stopped, a flash suddenly in her mind. "Uh."

"No, sorry, I'm just nervous for the day," Louis shook his head. "Everything okay Mea?"

"Yeah no it's like…" Mea trailed off. "I might need to pensieve the memory anyway after all."

They took the Pensieve from Dominique's dad after tea with Victoire, and Mea pointed the wand to her temple, taking out the memory and swirling it into the water. "Here goes nothing," she said, and then they all took out their wands and put them into the memory at the same time. A whoosh of air, and they were in the middle of the crowd again, while the wizard on the stage spoke.

It wasn't pleasant, reliving it all, but she could observe the witch better this time. Her mass of curly hair, her robes (which weren't scarlet, but they did shine a bit, as if she was using a glamour), her determination. Her wand wasn't even concealed, and nobody did anything to stop her, even when it was clear that she was about to hex the Auror.

Also, the way the Auror fell seemed unlikely if there wasn't a cushioning charm under it already.

They moved with the Mea and James from the memory, following them through the mess, following their voices through the Peruvian Night. They stayed there on the stairs, then went down with them when they went out again.

The mass of curly hair was there, and was talking with an Auror, and her robes were scarlet, unmistakably official. But it was far, it could have been anyone.

When they were all ejected from the memory, nobody spoke for a while.

"It's not a definitive proof," Louis muttered in the end. "Why not glamour her hair too, if it was so distinctive. Or why changing."

"I have no idea," Mea said. "I mean, changing because nobody was around the Alley anymore? I have never seen it so empty safe for the Aurors, honestly."

"Yeah, uh…" Dominique trailed off. "Maybe we can just bottle up the memory and revise it when we're not… like we're now. Maybe it will help if we go there with a clear mind."

"I need a hundred years of sleep," James said. "And not to see my father, right now."

 **A/N** (again)

I'm saying this now, the title is from a very popular socialist song which I love. It's also incidentally related to a black trans slogan, which I thought was related to the song but it's apparently not. Anyway.

The act of putting police officers into protests to agitate people is something very real and that happens more often that you'd think. Keep your eyes open next time you're at a protest!

If you stayed with me till the end, I'm very pleased and very happy, and if you wish to leave a comment, I'm even more pleased and even more happy.


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